Kicker basics
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Chapter 3. Kicker basics

General usage

As mentioned before, there are a lot of things that can be added to Kicker. This section will tell you everything about application starting, folder browsing and adding some kinds of applets and extensions. Lots of things can be done from the context menu with Configure Panel... or via the TDE Control Center's section Desktop->Panels.

Adding applications

There are three different ways to add an application to Kicker:

Drag and Drop

Simply drag any file from Konqueror into Kicker and it's there. Dragging also works from the TDE Menu with any entry. You can change the attributes like optional command line parameters or the icon by clicking it with the right mouse button and choosing Configure applicationname Button... from the context menu.

Using the context menu to add a TDE application

Click the right mouse button on any free space in Kicker and choose Add Application to Panel. There you can choose an application which will then be added to Kicker.

Using the context menu to add a non-TDE-application

Non-TDE-applications for example, xosview or xemacs.

Click the right mouse button on any free space in Kicker and choose Add Application to Panel and then Add Non-TDE Application. In the newly appearing window, enter Button title and a Description of the application in the first two text boxes. Then fill in the command of the application you wish to add in the Executable: text box. You can also append command line arguments, have the application start from a terminal, and choose the icon which will appear in Kicker by clicking the gear. If you don't choose an icon, the application will use the gear as a default.

Applications can be moved or removed by right mouse button click and choosing Move application name Button or Remove application name Button. You can also move icons using the middle mouse button if you have one. To do this click on an icon using the middle mouse button, hold for a second and then drag the icon to its new position. Another way to remove an application is by clicking the right mouse button on any free space and then choosing Remove from Panel->Application and then the application you want to be removed.

Adding Folders

Folders can be added by simply dragging a folder to any free space of Kicker. Quick Browsers can also be added from the context menu or the TDE Menu.

There are two different ways to have a folder in Kicker, you can choose between them in the menu appearing after dropping.

Add as File Manager URL

Choosing this will add a link to the selected folder. Clicking this folder icon will open Konqueror displaying the contents of this folder.

Add as Quick Browser

If you add a folder this way, it will be displayed as a submenu of Kicker. This submenu contains Open in File Manager, which does the same as a file manager URL, and Open in Terminal, which opens a terminal with this folder as the working path. Also, this submenu contains the contents of that folder. Sub-folders are displayed as new submenus like the Quick Browser itself. The maximum number of displayed elements can be set in the Settings Dialog. Quick Browsers can also be added from the context menu of Kicker and then choosing Add Applet to Panel... and then Special Buttons on the right top of the Add Applet dialog.

Both kinds of folders can be moved or removed by right mouse button click and choosing Move application name Button or Remove application name Button. You can also move icons using the middle mouse button if you have one. To do this click on an icon using the middle mouse button, hold for a second and then drag the icon to its new position. Another way to remove a folder is by clicking the right mouse button on any free space and then choosing Remove from Panel->Applet and then the applet you want to be removed.

File manager URLs can also be configured from the context menu, just like any other folder anywhere in TDE.

Special Icons

Some icons in Kicker have a special meaning. They are added by choosing Add Applet to Panel... and then Special Buttons on the right top of the Add Applet dialog.

The TDE Menu Icon

The TDE Menu icon is one of the most necessary icons in Kicker. As you might guess, it opens the TDE Menu, which you can learn more about in The K Menu.

The Window List Menu

Clicking this icon will show the Window list. Its first entry, Unclutter Windows, tries to move the windows on your active desktop in a way to see as many as possible.

Cascade Windows puts all windows on the active desktop over each others, the most recently on top and the others sorted by the time they where last used.

Below those entries is a list of all currently running applications, grouped by the desktops on which they are running. Clicking on an application will activate it.

The Bookmarks Menu

The Bookmarks icon provides fast access to your bookmarks. They appear in the same way as if you click the Bookmarks menu in Konqueror. Clicking a bookmark in the menu will launch Konqueror with the URL which is behind that bookmark.

The Recent Documents Icon

This menu shows the most recently used documents. Clicking the element Clear History will remove those entries, which may be useful for privacy reasons.

The Show Access Icon

The Show desktop icon lets you have quick access to all the things you have on your desktop by minimizing all currently open applications. Clicking it once will toggle it to show the desktop. The icon will remain pressed until you either click it again, which will restore your minimized apps, or reactivate an application from the taskbar.

The Quick File Browser Item

Adding a Browse icon will open a dialog which will let you choose a path and an icon, which will appear as a Quick File Browser menu. Refer to the Adding Folders section for more information about quick browsers.

The Non-TDE Application Launcher

The Non-TDE Application Launcher lets you add an application which doesn't appear in the TDE menu to Kicker. Refer to Adding Applications for more information about Non-TDE Applications.

The Terminal Sessions Icon

This icon provides a menu of the available Terminal sessions, just as Konsole does when you click and hold its New Session button.

The Print System Icon

This icon gives direct access to TDE's printing system. TDE is able to utilize various printing systems according to users' wishes. The options shown below will vary depending on the printing system in use. Clicking the left mouse button on the icon opens a menu which gives the following options:

  • Add Printer... This will start TDE's Add Printer Wizard which allows you to simply add a new printer to your system.

  • TDE Print Settings This item will open the TDE Print Configuration dialog.

  • Configure Server This item allows configuration of a CUPS Server. An authorization dialog, requiring validation, will be presented to you before allowing any changes.

  • Print Manager This item starts the Printing Manager, TDE's main printing control center.

  • Print Browser (Konqueror) This item will start Konqueror with the print:/ io-slave to browse all kinds of printers.

  • Print File... This item opens a dialog which lets you easily print one or more files.

  • The next items with the names of all your printers open the KJobviewer window for each printer.

Removing all kinds of icons

Clicking the right mouse button on any icon, whether it's an application, folder or special icon and then choosing Remove name from the appearing context menu will remove the icon from Kicker.

Another way of removing icons is clicking the right mouse button on any free space in Kicker and choosing Remove From Panel and then Applet, Application or All. You can then choose the button you want to remove in the submenu.

Note

Please note that removing an icon from Kicker won't remove the application on the disk!

Adding Applets

Kicker comes with a set of applets like the taskbar or the mini-pager. They can be added by choosing Add Applet to Panel... from the context menu, which can be opened by clicking the right mouse button on any free space in Kicker. In the upcoming dialog, choose an applet to add and click the Add to Panel button.

Applets can be moved by dragging them on their handle with holding the left mouse button, or the middle mouse button, or by choosing Move from the context menu.

You can learn more about the applets in the section Applets.

Removing Applets

Applets can be removed by choosing the Remove applet name option from the context menu, which appears when the right mouse button is clicked on the applet's handle (left or top side of the applet) or on the icon itself.

Adding Extensions

There is also the possibility to add external extensions to Kicker, like the External Taskbar, the Dock Application Bar for WindowMaker dock-applications, Kasbar, an iconic kind of taskbar, an Universal Sidebar and even child Panels which behave like new instances of Kicker.

Extensions can be added by selecting them from the submenu Add New Panel in the context menu of Kicker. Most of the extensions can be moved to any border of the screen by dragging them with the left mouse button on a free space. If that does not work, open the context menu on any free space in Kicker, choose Configure Panel... and set up the panel positions in the appearing dialog.

More about extensions can be read in the extensions section.

Removing Extensions

You can remove extensions by clicking Remove in their context menu, usually located in the fade-out handles or by selecting them from the Remove Panel submenu of the Kicker context menu.

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